The Golden Compass Movie -- Rated Just OK

I haven't written about The Golden Compass. For one thing, I haven't read the books yet. Perhaps I'll ask for them for Christmas.

We did go see the movie and to be honest with you, I wasn't all that impressed.

The special effects were so-so.

The story line kinda dragged in spots.

And I left the movie feeling like there should have been much, much more. Compared to richly layered storyline and textures of the Lord of the Rings, The Golden Compass fell flat.

Now, I do have to say that both of my kids, the teen and the preteen, liked it. Apparently it is reaching the target audience.

But for me, while it's an interesting premise, the movie fell flat.

(And did anyone else notice the evil woman was named Coulter? Hmmm, is there another Coulter in real life that's just as nasty? Probably a coincidence, but hey, I noticed it...)

Rated just OK, although I did buy the DVD.

(My personal scale is AWESOME, Good, OK, DVD ONLY, Don't think so, and NOPE.)

Frodo Lives

You know, the other day I was talking about Darkover.

It brought back memories of other favorite books, chief among them, The Lord of the Rings.

I can't count the number of times I've read and enjoyed The Hobbit and the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings. (Too bad I foolishly lent out The Two Towers from my set, now I need to find another copy or buy another set. Darn it all, and you wonder why I don't lend my books out!)

I was so excited and pleased with the LOTR movies. While some fans may criticize some of the characterizations and changes from the original book, the sweeping tale was very well done.

Let me say, Hollywood at its best. A rare thing.

Being a huge sci-fi/fantasy fan, I've seen some pretty bad movies made from some pretty darn good books. Somehow Hollywood manages to skew the book to fit the flavor of the month.

Yes, the LOTR movies did justice to the books.

Frodo lives. Immortalized in book and movie, Frodo will always be with us.

A Magical Fantasy

I've recently reread The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip.

The prose, oh my goodness, it's like flowing poetry, like a song from ancient days. The descriptive words of the story fill a space in my heart, my mind, a space that I didn't know was there. Her prose is lush, compelling, it's hard to describe, you have to read it for yourself:

"Sybel sat long among the trees after Gules Lyon had gone. The sky darkened; leaves whirled withered in endless circles above her. The wind was cold as the cold metal of locked books. It came across the snowcapped peak of Eld, down through the wet chill mists to moan in the great trees of her garden. She thought of Tam running bare-armed, barefoot through the sweet summer grass and the tiny wild flowers, shouting at great hawks with the voices of rough mountain children echoing his. Then her thoughts slipped away from her to the silent rooms and towers of wizards she had stolen books from. She had listened to them arguing with one another, watched them working, and then she had smiled and gone quietly away, carrying ancient, priceless books before they had even realized anyone had come."

I really, really like this author. She wrote a series, The Riddle Master of Hed is the first book, that also fills that need for an ancient tale of magic and love and intrigue and revenge. I'll talk about the Riddle Master series later, I want to reread the trilogy again. Let me just say that it's an underappreciated masterpiece that just as complex and magical and wonderful as The Lord of the Rings.

You can find a list of her books and other information at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_A._McKillip. More information can be found at www.sfworld.com -- http://www.sffworld.com/author/360.html.

According to the website, she lives in Oregon. I think I may try to look her up one day when I'm in Oregon, invite her for coffee, just so we can talk for a while about her books and poetry.

I really recommend not just reading her books, but buying a set for your personal library. These are DEEP and every time you reread them, you'll find new nuances, new ideas to contemplate. I'd also recommend that teachers put them on the shelf for elective reading.

Seriously, check her books out.