Thoughts on the 2011 Steampunk Three Musketeers

(Cross-posted from FB. I miss movie reviews. So here I am.)

Watching the 2011 steampunk Three Musketeers.

1. I like so many of the people in this cast. This should be better.

2. Remember back when Orlando Bloom was a thing? Weird, right? He’s kind of...fun as a villain, though. I think he might be one of those “character actor in a lead’s body” types. Also, he should never do anything but costume dramas, because the look suits him.

3. No matter the adaptation, Porthos is always the best Musketeer. I am not willing to debate this.

4. Is D’Atagnan SUPPOSED to be a complete void of charisma? Because that’s almost as universal as the Porthos thing. Is it because he is a literal child? Also, who was responsible for choosing that hairstyle for him? I demand a personal apology.

5. I wish Milla Jovovich’s husband would make better movies for her to be in.

6. It’s like they watched Guy Richie’s ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and said “Let’s do that!” but somehow got it just slightly wrong. Like they were trying for the same cheeky, winking, gritty tone, but it’s too well-lit and the sentiment is just shy of Hallmark level.

7. Fights are good, though.

8. So are the costumes.

9. This cast is WAY prettier than the 1993 version. Sorry Kiefer (and Kiefer’s mullet).

10. I like that the women have more to do in this one than just look scared. (Or, in Rebecca De Mornay’s case, vaguely constipated.)

11. I did not sign up to watch “Villains Special Effect Spectacular” here. Why are the Musketeers barely in this film?!

12. Speaking of, Christophe Waltz is doing his best, but when it comes to creepily smiling sex predator cardinal, no one will ever be able to take the crown from Tim Curry.

13. This film had many flaws, but James Corden is the absolute worst thing about it. By comparison, the war blimp impaling itself on the spire of Notre Dame is downright charming. I wish they’d impaled James Corden instead. Preferably right at the beginning of the movie.

CBR6 #3: In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff

Stefanie Pintoff's debut novel was both a fantastic historical fiction and a compelling detective story.

It's 1905, and Detective Simon Ziele has moved out to the New York City suburbs after his fiancee perishes in the General Slocum disaster (that detail being what hooked me on the book in the first place, since that wreck is one I was very interested during my maritime disaster phase). He expects the life of a small-town policeman to be fairly quiet, but it isn't long before a horrific murder drops into his lap. The victim seems to have had many enemies, but none with a hatred violent enough to result in bloody homicide. Ziele is at a loss until Professor Alistair Sinclair shows up--Sinclair has been pioneering a field of criminal psychology at Columbia, and he thinks one of his test subjects might be the man the police are looking for...the only problem is finding him.

Ziele and Sinclair wind their way through the neighborhoods of old New York, coming into contact with every strata of society, from the mayor all the way down to local drunks and hoods in the search for the murderer.

This book was awesome -- I really enjoyed the character of Ziele very much, and found him quite sympathetic and believable. I also appreciated Alistair Sinclair's daughter-in-law Isabella, who was a much-needed female presence, and painted as a smart, independent young woman. The mystery wasn't obvious, and while I had my suspicions, I didn't know for sure who had done it until the reveal. I also enjoyed the historical context (though on occasion it did feel a tiny bit "OH HERE IS A THING THAT HAPPENED IN NEW YORK IN 1905 THAT WE JUST HAPPEN TO MENTION CASUALLY READER, DO APPRECIATE OUR HISTORICAL CONTEXT!" for the most part it was well done).

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction or detective thrillers. I can't wait to get my hands on the second and third books in the series.

CBR5 #9: What Alice Knew by Paula Marantz Cohen

(I received this book through a LibraryThing giveaway, but that will in no way effect my review.)

A murderer has been stalking the streets of London. He's called Jack the Ripper, and he has the city trembling in fear. Enter the James siblings--Henry, the author, William, the lecturer and early psychologist, and Alice, the invalid. When William is called to London from the US to apply his new studies in psychology to the case, the brothers and their sister decide to work together to suss out the Ripper.

This is a pretty good mystery, though I thought the solution came a little bit from left field. However, the characters--particularly Henry--were quite enjoyable, and I liked the way they each had a different view of the society in which they existed. Also, the author used shifting perspective well.

On the whole, I'd definitely read another mystery involving the James siblings!

CBR4 #31: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

I've seen a lot of people reading this book, and have read some very good reviews about it. Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to the hype.

This book is divided between two subjects. The first is the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. The second is Chicago-based serial killer H. H. Holmes, who took advantage of the chaos caused by the fair to lure scores of women to their deaths in his "murder castle." Although these two subjects effected one another, and occurred at the same time and place, they don't mesh together as well as one one hope in this book.

The parts about the World's fair are very interesting--the amount of work and effort that was undertaken in such a short period of time are breathtaking, although there is the standard amount of ridiculousness that surrounds any very large project helmed by a forced committee (witness the 9/11 memorial museum, which is still incomplete eleven years after the event). Still, they managed to erect a miniature city filled with attractions and events, in a relatively undeveloped part of the country, during a time before computers--a time before power drills! The 1893 World's Fair saw the first Ferris wheel. It also put Chicago on the world map for something other than beef. It's an incredible accomplishment by a group of incredible men (only men, mind you--one woman designed one building, but she was driven to a nervous breakdown shortly after its completion and never mentioned again in the book). There is also a lot of information about the history of Chicago, and the way that the city changed during the years leading to the turn of the century.

The parts about H. H. Holmes are also well-written and well-researched. The author tracks his path of destruction from his origins to his house of horrors in Chicago, and then follows him while he's on the run. The story of the detective who doggedly pursued him across the country in hopes of rescuing (or at least locating) the children Holmes had taken with him on the lam is gripping as well.

The problem, as I mentioned before, is that these two stories would seem as though they should fit together, but as written they really don't. They feel more like two separate (and good) books that were jumbled together during the printing process. It's an interesting concept, but I don't think it works as well as expected.

I'd still definitely recommend this book, because--like I said--these are both good, interesting stories. The parts about the World's Fair and the politics of Chicago at the time were particularly intriguing to me, since I didn't didn't know anything about either topic. I'd just suggest lowering your expectations before you start reading it.

CBR4 #30: Nevermore by Harold Schechter

Harold Schechter is mostly known for his true-crime accounts of serial killers. However, with Nevermore he introduces one of my favorite characters of the year: Edgar Allen Poe, narrator and detective.

Through set of rather interesting circumstances, Edgar Allan Poe (pre-authorial success--he makes a rather small living writing book reviews, most of which are scathing at best) finds himself faced with the angry author of a book he has reviewed: famed American frontiersman Davy Crockett. Crockett and Poe are polar opposites, but they wind up ensnared in a perplexing murder mystery which they must work together to solve.

Poe is both exactly what you would expect and delightfully beyond what you could imagine. His voice is so deliberately and agonizingly over-the-top that it is hilarious. For example, an early passage from him runs thus:

Before I could summon this agonized yell (an act which would unquestionably have alarmed the entire neighborhood and occasioned me a great deal of embarrassment), a dim awareness of my true situation broke into my overwrought fancy. Suddenly, I realized that the noise I had mistaken for gravedigging was in reality the muffled thud of some unknown caller, pounding on the front door of my residence. 

His voice continues like that through the whole book, combining Poe's real-life style with the popular tone of that time. What makes it even more entertaining is that Davy Crockett's lines are all in a more rough (and less frilly) prose, and the contrast is wonderful.

The plot is reasonable, though I will admit that--while historically accurate--Poe's obsession with his pre-teen cousin is a bit creepy. Another great thing is how the events of the book are set up to appear to be the inspiration for Poe's most famous works (note the subtle 'Raven' references in the passage above). The characters and the writing were the real draw of this book for me, but even though I loved it, Schechter's take on Poe's style can occasionally become a slog. On the whole, though, I highly recommend this one to anyone who enjoys the work of Poe or good mysteries.

CBR4 #29: Blood Groove by Alex Bledsoe

The basic plot of this book involves the Baron Rudolfo Zginski, a vampire who was captured and killed in 1915...well, not exactly killed. Badly maimed would probably be a better way to describe it. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he rises to find himself in 1975 Memphis. He has to figure out where he is, what's going on, and how to work things to his advantage. Along the way, he meets up with some young (and rather poorly trained) vampires, whom he teaches the ins and outs of being undead. He also must deal with a mysterious plot to destroy vampire-kind.

The plot of this was interesting and moved at a good pace. Baron Zginski wasn't a bad main character, though I will admit that I bristled a little at the way he treated some of the women who surrounded him, particularly his living meal-ticket. The younger vampires were more likeable, and I wanted to know more about all their back stories.

I think the most interesting thing about it is the idea of waking up after sixty years and having to make an immediate adjustment to modern life. It's also the main thing (read: pretty much only thing) I enjoyed about the recent movie Dark Shadows. While Baron Zginski and Johnny Depp's character Barnabas Collins have little in common as far as personality, they are both faced with the need to learn about a world that has changed in ways they would never have imagined. Can you possibly imagine going to sleep during a time when horses and carts were still a relatively common method of transportation and waking up to discover that a man had walked on the moon? Ponder the surprises presented by the prevalence of telephones, television, and airplanes! Even navigating basic daily tasks like shopping or getting from place to place has to be a constant shock. The other major change would be a social one--the way women and minorities were treated in 1915 is significantly different than they were in 1975. Think about how much society can change in 10 years--now multiply that by six! Not to mention that the mid-seventies were a weird time for people who were there from the beginning...

It's not my favorite work of Bledsoe's (I prefer his Eddie LaCrosse novels) but it's a decent read. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes vampire books that don't take themselves too seriously.

CBR4 #28: Hollywood Nocturnes by James Ellroy

I hadn't read any Ellroy before this, but it totally grabbed me. Hollywood Nocturnes is made up of six semi-interlocking short stories set in Ellroy's favorite haunt--post-war L.A. In one story, a musician decides to solve his problems by having himself kidnapped. In another a mob enforcer is entranced by a woman who dates the two most powerful men in town. A series of murders on the African-American side of town isn't necessarily what it it seems to be.

The characters are mostly anti-heroes--in fact, some of them are pretty terrible--but they all have their own special charm. I was particularly fond of Buzz Meeks and his story.  The stories are quickly plotted, and detailed enough to be satisfying without running over. Ellroy's prose is clipped and slightly brutal, but also lovingly arranged, I and I enjoyed it in the same way that I enjoy some of Stephen King's literary gymnastics.

This book made me immediately set out to get my hands on more of the author's work. Both his style and his subjects really appealed to me, though I will admit that if you are looking for strong female characters, you are probably not going to find any here.

CBR4 #7: The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham

In some ways, The Crime at Black Dudley is a very typical British country house mystery. A bunch of upper class people are invited to a party weekend at some god-forsaken, off-the-beaten-path estate. They arrive to find they don't necessarily know each other, and are a bit curious as to why they have been chosen. The house comes complete with creepy relative, hostile manservant, and a very weird family tradition. When a murder occurs, it's only the beginning of what will turn out to be a simply disastrous weekend.  The women weep, the men engage in fisticuffs, there are secret passages, hidden identities, and a few fiendish plots.

The main character is Dr. George Abbershaw, a mild-mannered physician who occasionally consults for Scotland Yard. The actual detective of the piece is Albert Campion, who both extremely intelligent AND extremely weird. Although Dr. Abbershaw in some ways functions as a Dr. Watson, he is less privy to Campion's actions and motivations. It's a bit like seeing a Sherlock Holmes story from Lestrade's point of view--glimpses of the great detective at work, hints of his motives, some short and somewhat confusing explanations, but never a full picture of what is going on.

The characters were pretty well drawn and interesting. Although Campion was used sparingly, I can see why Allingham decided to make him the star of her series rather than Dr. Abbershaw. The plot was all right, though nothing particularly surprising or thought-provoking. On the whole, it's a decent murder-mystery, but nothing special.

CBR4 #1: Whom the Gods Love by Kate Ross

So 2011 is over, and I missed my goal of the elusive "Double Cannonball" by five books. Still, 99 books read and reviewed in a year is really pretty impressive. And Cannonball Read IV has already started (more information here) so here's another opportunity for me to beat my personal best. 104 in 2012!

The first book of the new year is the third book in Kate Ross's Julian Kestral series. With each book I get a little sadder, since I know there are only four books...meaning that the series will end soon. That's tough to handle, because these are SO GOOD. They're everything I look for in a mystery novel, and I could read about Julian Kestral for at least twenty more books. (Kate Ross is dead, and Dan Brown plows forward...life is obviously NOT FAIR.)

In this story, 1830s English dandy Julian is contacted by the father of Alexander Falkland, a young man who travelled in Julian's high class social circle. Alexander has been brutally murdered in his own home during a party he was hosting, and the authorities have no idea why or by whom. His father Malcolm Falkland has heard of Julian's past adventures and engages him to help solve the mystery. As Kestral begins to dig, it becomes quickly apparent that nothing about Alexander Falkland (or the people who surrounded him) is as it first seemed. It will take all of Julian's cleverness (as well as help from his loyal manservant Dipper) to come up with the answers.

Once again, Kate Ross has written a story that is both entertaining and believable. The twists in the plot are tough to guess but easy to follow. None of them come out of nowhere, and all the clues can be seen clearly in retrospect. The characters are also wonderful--this book delves a bit into Julian's enigmatic past, and gives a new perspective on his character and motivations. There were also some clever ties to Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice which I didn't necessarily notice at first, but found intriguing once I recognized them.

I would obviously recommend this series, though one definitely needs to read them in order to avoid missing out.

CR3 #93: A Broken Vessel by Kate Ross

 Oh man, I am SO CLOSE to reaching my goal for the year, but I simply do NOT want to write these reviews. However, I am going to battle through it, just so I can say I managed to complete a double Cannonball in a year. (Also, speaking of, if any of you are interested in joining the Cannonball Read this year, you can find the information here. It's a lot of fun, and there are a lot of cool people involved.)

A Broken Vessel is the second book in Kate Moss's Julian Kestral series, and the British dandy once again finds himself embroiled in a mystery. This time, the action starts with Julian's valet Dipper's sister. Sally is a prostitute, and while stealing from her johns one evening, she discovers a letter from an anonymous woman begging for help. Unfortunately, it's impossible to know who the woman is, and Sally isn't sure which of the three men she saw that evening had been carrying the letter. When she runs into her brother Dipper, he gets Julian involved. Soon, Sally has to go undercover, and a woman is murdered in a house full of suspects.

Once again, Kate Ross has done a great job. The plot of the book is twisty and engaging. I followed all the clues carefully, and was still surprised by the ending (but not in a "where the hell did THAT come from?" sort of way). The characters of Julian and Dipper, as well as Julian's elderly doctor friend are all wonderful. I liked them very much and was definitely invested in what happened to them. Sally was not as believable, and I frankly found the romantic subplot a little ridiculous. However,  on the whole this was another very enjoyable mystery.

CR3 #91: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson

This book happens to be one of those very, very rare cases in which the movie is actually better.

The basic story is that Miss Pettigrew--a middle-aged spinster--receives a new post as a governess in 1930s London. When she arrives, however, she finds no children. Instead, she meets beautiful young nightclub singer Delysia LaFosse. Delysia is trying to juggle three men and a burgeoning social calendar, and things are beginning to get too difficult. Decisions have to be made, and Delysia isn't sure she's up for it. Luckily, Miss Pettigrew finds that she can be of help.

The book is quite clearly a fantasy, something of a Cinderella story. Miss Pettigrew makes new friends, gets a makeover, and finds a happy ending. Nothing too difficult happens, and nearly everyone goes away better off. It's an adorable story, but frankly a bit light.

The movie, on the other hand, is stellar. Frances McDormand stars as Miss Pettigrew, and Amy Adams plays Delysia. They're supported by an excellent cast of gentleman (particularly Lee Pace as the brooding piano player Michael and Ciaran Hinds as lingerie designer Joe Blomfield) and Shirley Henderson as the poisonous Edythe DuBarry. The movie has more conflict--Miss Pettigrew has more to lose, and is forced to make tougher choices. Miss Pettigrew in the book tends to drift along in everyone elses's wake, whereas McDormand shows the steel that lies beneath Miss P's frumpy exterior. Adams's Delysia is a bit more scatterbrained than the one in the book--she's not as strong a female character in the film, and requires more rescuing--but she is still charming and lovable. Both Adams and McDormand are able to communicate volumes with a small look or tiny raise of the eyebrow.The fact that the film is set against the run-up to WWI also helps to put the characters in a more precarious position. The plot contains more conflict, but it all resolves rather well.  In addition, the costumes, sets, and music are all gorgeous. They set the mood very strongly, as well as making the movie a pleasure to see. As usual, Focus Features has done an excellent job bringing a period piece to a modern audience.

On the whole, although I enjoyed the book, I'd recommend skipping it and going straight to the film.

CR3 #86: Cut to the Quick by Kate Ross

It's a real shame that Kate Ross passed away after writing only four Julian Kestrel mysteries. Her hero is an 1820s-era English dandy, possessed of a keen fashion sense and an even keener set of wits. He's a fascinating and well-drawn character, and I could probably read about fifty more books about him quite happily. Unfortunately, it looks like I'll have to settle for four.

In this novel Kestrel finds himself at a country home inhabited by the Fontclairs, a high-class and very proud family. Having provided a much-needed service to young Hugh Fontclair, Julian is invited to be a groomsman in Hugh's wedding. It turns out that things are murkier than expected--the wedding is based on secrets and blackmail, the families are at each others' throats, and then a beautiful dead woman turns up in Kestrel's bed. His valet Dipper (a former pickpocket) is suspected, and this (aside from the fact that the girl was apparently murdered in his bedroom) drives him to involve himself in solving the mystery.

The plot is quite twisty, and this is helped by the book's shifting perspectives. Although the main POV is Julian's, nearly everyone else in the story gets a chance to express his or her own opinions and thoughts, from Sir Robert Fontclair, the head of the family, down to the housemaids and Hugh's eleven-year-old sister Phillipa. I am pleased to say that I didn't figure out "who done it" until the very end, but when the solution was presented, it fit neatly with all the evidence previously shown. The story was intriguing, and the characters were all interesting. Julian especially was likable and entertaining without being too good to be true. His personality was quite charming, which makes it easy to see why he is so popular with all the other characters.

I really enjoyed this book, and as I said I can't wait to get the rest of the series. Great for anyone who enjoys smart period mysteries.

CR3 #77: 48 by James Herbert

James Herbert's 48 begins three years after the end of World War II. In this world, Hitler's final act before committing suicide was to release the Nazis' top secret bio-weapon over London. The weapon is a blood disease that causes most people to drop dead wherever they may be. Some take slightly longer to die, some linger for years as their blood slowly turns black and congeals in their veins. Some, it turns out, are totally immune due to a sheer fluke of genetics. One such person is an American pilot named Hoke. He's spent the past three years surviving alone in London, accompanied by a stray dog. As the book begins, he's on the run from a group of "blackshirts," a group of "slow-death" suffers lead by a mad nobleman. Hoke runs across a small band of fellow survivors, and soon all of them are fighting for their lives in a post-apocalyptic world.

This was not a bad read. The characters are a tiny bit cliched, but it is after all not a character study but a thrilling empty-world adventure book. For the most part, the main character is a typical action hero, full of cutting one-liners, bravado, and a slightly tragic back story. The other characters are distinct, but not particularly engaging. The story is frankly too short to get attached to any of the secondary characters. There are some really great chase scenes, and one through the London tube system is dark, creepy, and a little bit scary. On the whole, this is not a bad action book, but there's not much more to it than that.

CR3 #55: The Case of the Guilded Fly by Edmund Crispin

This is another work in my summer mystery series. Set in the late 30s in England, it's sort of an upper-crust society murder. The main character (the Watson, of the piece) is journalist Nigel Blake, on holiday to his college town of Oxford. Although the narration is a third-person limited-omniscient, Nigel is character who does most of the heavy lifting. The main detective is Gervase Fen, a professor of English literature, a friend of Nigel's who has done some detecting before. The rest of the characters are members of a repertory theater company, gathered with the playwright, his companion, the Oxford organist, and several other hangers-on, all of whom become suspects when a widely disliked member of the company is murdered days before opening night.

The mystery is quite twisty, and I couldn't figure it out until the end when it was all laid out for me. I did have trouble for a while keeping all the characters straight, as there are eleven or twelve of them, and several are very similar. There were times when things got a bit dull, since it was just page after page of characters speaking to one another about what had already happened. There was not much action of any kind in it.

I know this book is part of the "Golden Age" of mysteries, but it was just slightly too boring for me. I'm not saying I won't try another mystery by Crispin, as he may have worked out the problems in later works. However, I'm not inclined to ever read this one again.

CR3 #54: Her Wyoming Man by Cheryl St.John

(Disclaimer: I won this book for free in a giveaway on Goodreads.com. Doesn't mean I shall be even slightly less critical than I normally would.)

Her Wyoming Man is the story of Ella, who begins the story as a high-class hooker in Kansas City during the late 1800s (I think, I can't recall if any specific dates were ever given). After a change in circumstances, Ella and a few of the other women from the "house of pleasure" make a run for it, answering an ad from a city in rural Wyoming that needs marriage-worthy women. Ella quickly finds herself married to a young widower named Nathan, who has three small children and political aspirations. How long can she keep her past a secret? And what will happen if it comes out?

In general, this is a pretty standard Harlequin-style romance. The heroine is beautiful, the hero is dashing, there is a certain amount of conversation, a problem comes up, is overcome, and everyone basically lives happily ever after. It is not especially original, but the story is serviceable, and the characters are fairly likeable. The sexy bits were pretty good, though definitely not explicit. I really only had two issues with it; my first problem was the sometimes dizzying switches in perspective--the story is mostly from Ella's point of view, but often it moves to Nathan's, generally without warning, often mid-paragraph. My other problem was purely personal--I had trouble enjoying the story because I was so dreading the point when the truth about Ella's past comes out.

I'd recommend this for anyone who enjoys the occasional fluffy historical romance. It's a great way to spend a rainy evening or an afternoon lying on the beach.

CR3 #51: The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey

I was talking to my mum the other evening, and she asked about what I'd been reading lately (partly because she is genuinely interested, and partly because I pass along a lot of my books to her, and she hoping to get some good stuff instead of YET ANOTHER BOOK about a horrific fire or shipwreck or something). I said that since it is now summer, I have shifted into trashy fiction/mystery gear. I explained that is what summer is for...even though I am no longer in school and thus get to pick ALL my own reading material. I then went on to explain that my latest trash mystery was a defense of Richard III, using historical documents to show he was innocent of the murder of the two young princes. She said "That doesn't sound trashy at all."

Tey's detective Arthur Grant is laid up in the hospital after a painful accident. He has hurt his back, is unable to move, and is slowly losing his mind from inactivity. Soon, a friend drops by with a stack of photos, some of famous historical criminals and some of their alleged victims. One reproduction of a painting catches his eye, and soon he finds himself trying to gather all the information he can on the infamous King Richard III. With help from his friends, Grant begins to investigate the case against Richard (using his modern methods of detection). He discovers in short order that everything he thought he knew about the situation could very well be false.

Tey quotes historical documents as she lays out her case for the innocence of Richard, as well as pointing the blame in another direction. Obviously, hers is not the first book to bring this information to light (a fact that is mentioned within the text itself) but it does so in an easy to read and entertaining way. I enjoyed the character of Detective Grant, and was right there with him as he reveled in his discoveries and vented his frustration. The story moved along a good clip, tying the historical facts together in an unintrusive literary frame. I felt like I was learning, but not being lectured to.

I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested in historical mysteries or in quiet detective stories.

CR3 # 32: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

I have an embarrassing confession to make: I LOVE the Disney version of The Three Musketeers. I love it, even though fully 1/2 of the leads are potentially violent children of Hollywood with multiple arrests and a history of substance abuse. I love it even though the actor playing the main character has all the charm and personality of a mung bean. I love it even though there are endless sword fights and yet no one ever loses a single drop of blood, even after being run through. The whole thing is an adorable fairy tale. I always assumed that it is totally historically inaccurate, and figured that it probably deviated from the plot of the book somewhat, because that is how Disney does things. Little did I know...

The main characters--who are named D'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis--meet when D'Artagnan arrives in town and accidentally agrees to a duel with each of the other on the same day. There are international plots and a dark lady involved. The Cardinal Richelieu is very shady.

Here is where the similarities end.

The novel is a complex story full of intrigue, plotting, and murder. It is also a humorous tale of friendship, struggle, and doing almost anything for money. The characters are distinct, though sometimes leaning toward caricature. The plot for the most part moves along, though there are several sections that drag--it's a tough transition to go from murder plots and kidnappings into three chapters about how the musketeers scammed money to pay for more horses. However, the characters were entertaining enough to keep me reading until the main plot picked up again.

This book was more challenging--on a purely literary note--that most of what I've been reading for the past several years. Dumas's language and sentence structure is decidedly early 19th century, which meant there were passages I had to read more than once to understand--a true rarity for me. It was nice to be reading some "classic literature" though, and as far as that goes, the plot and characters were a lot more fun and relateable than, say, Melville or Hawthorne (IMHO).

I'd recommend this to anyone who wants to read something classic, but has a hard time with some of the more preachy or stately works. This is definitely a rollicking adventure story.

Cannonball Read 2 #50: Citizen Soldiers by Stephen Ambrose

The full title of this book is Citizen Soldiers: The U. S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany. It's a well-written, well-researched book detailing the experiences of the men on the ground in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during WW2.

Stephen Ambrose has once again created a book crammed full of facts and first-person experiences, much like his Band of Brothers. This book is less specific, in that Band of Brothers followed just one unit, while Citizen Soldiers is more of an overview of the entire ETO. He explains the troop movements and what was going on at the top, but most of the story comes directly from the enlisted men who were there, explaining what their day-to-day lives were like, and what kind of conditions they were surviving in.

There are chapters dedicated to many different types of soldiers and types of units. There are chapters about the Air Force, detailing what it was like to be a pilot or a gunner, as well as about the effect the American Air Force had on the war. There are also chapters on medics, mechanics, and other rear-echelon personnel. Ambrose includes a chapter on the service of African Americans, but it is fairly short. This book has a lot of fascinating information about things like how supplies got to the front, and how this enabled the allied forces to continue their push through Europe.

The book is well-researched, and Ambrose has interviewed many soldiers of the time, including British, Canadian, Russian, and even German in order to get as many perspectives as possible. Although it is a lot less focused and therefore slightly more confusing than Band of Brothers, it is an extremely informative and interesting book that should be read by anyone with an interest in World War 2.

Cannonball Read 2 #47: Calico Palace by Gwen Bristow

After reading all those very heavy non-fiction war books, I felt like I could use a little break. I needed something fluffy and simple to relax my poor over-extended brain, so I picked up Calico Palace by Gwen Bristow. It's an historical fiction romance, much like Bristow's other book, The Jubilee Trail (one of my favorite no-brainer romances.)

In the Calico Palace, young Kendra ends up on the west coast of the USA during the mid-nineteenth century, just in time to be involved in the 1849 gold rush. This is the story of her and her friends (including Marny, an independent woman who runs a gambling parlor) and their struggle to thrive in the newly settled wilderness as gold fever takes hold. The characters are met by a variety of obstacles, including abandonment, disease, weather, fire, and human nature. They all manage to overcome and end up more or less happily ever after.

To be honest, it's almost the same basic plot and character types as The Jubilee Trail, though I found it a little less enchanting. On the whole, it's a very sweet book with some interesting historical context.

Cannonball Read 2 #37: The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough

In 1889, the small steel town of Johnstown Pennsylvania was nearly wiped off the map by a flood. This was only partly a natural disaster--the breaking of the South Forks dam was not entirely due to an unprecedented rainstorm--the selfish behavior of rich industrialists was also to blame.

High in the hills of Pennsylvania, the rich elite of Pittsburgh--people like the Fricks and the Carnegies, for example--purchased a piece of land to create a summer club. They built a hotel and cabins. They also liked the built-in lake, but decided the old earthen dam could use some improvements...they made it lower and flatter (so they could take carriage rides across) and put in some mesh "fish-gates" so the expensive fish they stocked couldn't escape. These "improvements" would weaken the dam, so when the record-setting rainstorm came along, there was almost no chance the dam would stay intact.

In the middle of the day on May 31, 1889, the South Forks dam collapsed and sent the approximately 20 million tons of water which had been Lake Conemaugh cascading down the valley, wiping out numerous small towns before turning a corner, picking up speed, and hitting Johnstown with a 60 foot tall wall of water, moving at about 40 miles an hour. The town was almost totally destroyed and many lives were lost. The wall of water picked up train cars, houses, trees, and other debris, and through it against a railroad bridge at the bottom of town. This giant pile of detritus stuck against the bridge, and as the waters were still receding caught fire, sending several people trapped in the debris to their deaths.

Of course, none of the wealthy industrialists whose selfish lack of attention created the deadly circumstances were ever held responsible.

David McCullough does an excellent job explaining the historical context of the flood, as well as the events that occurred. He also explains in an easily understandable manner the engineering failures that led to this disaster.

The book is both entertaining and informative, and I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in turn-of-the century Pennsylvania history.